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Monday, February 9, 2015

Star Trek Favorites: The Squire of Gothos

Howdy space cowboys and cowgirls and
welcome to Day 1 of Star Trek Favorites. Skipping through the ranks
of three seasons, it seems only fitting and proper we cover the first
phenomenal creature that can alter space, time and matter itself to
suit its means. With an 8 day mission of relief supplies for one of
the existing colonies under the Federation, a rogue planet seems to
be formed out of nothing. Marked as a future exploration and setting
back on course our space explorers find they cannot leave orbit.
With investigation under way our team looks into this further. This
is Star Trek: Squire of Gothos.

Roguish air of mystery or foppish dandy?

Lt. Sulu (George Takei of Star
Trek: The Motion Picture, Miami Vice, Return from the River Kwai, Kim
Possible, Star Trek: Shattered Universe and Heroes) is
whisked away by no means of conventional transporting and no sooner
has Captain Kirk (William Shatner of Incubus, The Twilight
Zone, 77 Sunset Strip, Impulse, T.J. Hooker, Tekwar and Boston Legal)
is an alert for his missing crew member, he himself is also taken to
parts unknown.

The planet is classified as toxic to
most forms of life and Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy of
Wagontrain, Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, Transformers:
The Movie, The Simpson, Futurama, Fringe and Star Trek Into Darkness)
hypothesizes that they have very little time to mount a rescue party and
give both men medical aid. Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley of
Trackdown, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Star Trek, Night of the Lepus
and Star Trek Adventure) preps his landing party for hostile
environment and breathing apparatuses..? Um apparati? Damn mail-in
Latin correspondence course.

Sulu, you beef?

Breathing masks at the ready the team
beams down to a lush forest that should not be there under the
previous scans let alone a Gothic castle where both Kirk and Sulu are
fine and healthy. They are being treated well and the food is
nourishing. This brash man in 17th century garb calls
himself General Trelane, retired (William Campbell of Night of
Evil, Dementia 13, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Blood Bath, The
Streets of San Francisco, Star Trek: Judgement Rites and Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine) offering conversation, food, drink and
entertainment from their long journey. Kirk urgently explains their
ongoing mission but Trelane will hear none of it. Spock manages to
lock transporter beams on all carbon based lifeforms and beams them
up. Trelane's readings made no sense to the sensors, not unlike the
planet itself. Annoyed that his guests were abducted back, Trelane
scoops up the entire bridge crew and demands he be heard.

Can the crew escape from this being of
almost deity quality? Will they have to challenge its authority?
Doesn't this almost feel like being judged on high by the Q?

Here are some fun facts about the
episode and its actors.

William Campbell comes back to Star
Trek playing a Klingon commander in The Trouble with Tribbles. The
description of matter transmogrification from shifting energy into
matter and creating different matter is almost a precursor to the
holodeck technology of Star Trek: The Next Generation or even the
replicator tech they had for food, tools and supplies.

According to an interview with William
Campbell in The World of Star Trek, in his hunt of Captain Kirk in
the forest, he fell down and dislocated his shoulder. Due to the
agonizing pain, he flung his arm directly up and it popped right back
in the socket. The episode's filming went a day over schedule being
filmed in seven days instead of the standard six. This episode
inspired comic book writer/author Peter David's novel Q-Squared
claiming Trelane was in fact a teenage Q still reliant of technology
rather than his own matter transference skills.